New Home World
by 1smilehd
Summary: Jasper's redemption arc happens much earlier and the whole all of Steven's universe changes. Join for the adventures of Jasper with everyone in Beach City and the Gems. Maybe even finding love? Sorry I suck at summaries. Story also on wattpad under same story name and username.
1. Chapter 1

In the Beta Kindergarten-

Jasper lay on the ground, unable to bare the pain anymore as she felt the corruption start to spread all over her body and consuming the very depths of her mind and gem.

In front of her stood Steven while Amethyst and Peridot were behind him, with Peridot hiding behind Amethyst as they all watched in horror as they saw Jasper being consumed by the corruption before their very eyes.

Jasper glared at the three when she saw the look they were giving me. " _How dare the pity me, the great Jasper? Even in my last moments, i should at least give the respect of a decent death without some unworthy failures to pity me as if my warrior's death was some pathetic tragedy,"_ Thought Jasper _. " Well if you could even call my death a warriors death... how pathetic that I, Jasper, a gem that made history by being one of the only perfect gems in all of the universe besides the Diamonds to have ever been created, would perish because of what the crystal gems call- corruption, something that doesn't even exist on home world or anywhere else besides this wretched planet.I was right this planet destroys everything... even I was not safe from its horrible curse,"_ ThoughtJasper as she withered on the ground in pain, not even struggling against the corruption anymore as she started to accept her fate, she was going to be corrupted and then the crystal gems were going to shatter her.

As she lay there on the floor Steven started to approach her as he couldn't bear to see anyone in pain, not even his enemies. _" Hey Jasper,"_ Steven said as he took a tentative step forward. _" H-Here let me help-."_

Steven fell backwards as he barely avoided a blow that Jasper tried to hit him with but just narrowly missed. Steven looked at Jasper in complete shock as he saw her struggle to catch her breath. As she was slowly able to catch her breath jasper looked up to glare at Steven, an intense gaze that Steven felt pierced right through him to see his very soul. _" I don't need your help Rose and I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY EITHER!"_ She screamed before having to stop to catch her breath once again. _"I'm not trying to give you my pity I just want to help you!"_ yelled Steven as he stood up in hopes that he could reason with Jasper.

As he once again tried to approach Jasper he stopped out of fear as she started to softly chuckle before she started to laugh as hard as she could until she had to stop because of her labored breaths.

She began to get up into a crouched position, her back heaving up and down as she struggled to breath. _"I figured it out Rose"_ _,_ she thought " _I finally figured out how you were able to accomplish so much, heh you really are a genius."_

She once again looked up at Steven, a smile creeping onto her face. _" So, this is how you were able to do it Rose isn't it?"_ she said in between labored breaths _." I always wondered why you would stoop so low as to having such a pathetic body, but that's the genius of it isn't it?You did it so they wouldn't suspect you, so they would lower their guard until you were ready to execute your plan, You want gems after they're worthless, you wait until after they lost because when you're at the bottom you'll follow anyone who makes you feel like less of a failure."_

She stopped once again, catching her breath once again. Her breathing was getting heavier and more labored as the corruption was slowly taking her over despite her best efforts to slow it down, she needed this, she needed to be here to see the look on Roses face when she found our that the great Jasper was able to uncover her plans that even her most trusted soldiers probably didn't know about.

As she was catching her breath and thinking Steven turned slightly to give both Peridot and Amethyst a confused and nervous look which they both returned.

Jasper looked up at Steven at that exact moment and noticed the two gems behind Steven. She gave another small chuckle. _" And we even have two perfect examples of your plan in action!"_ she screamed with an almost triumphant tone. Steven stole another glance at the two behind them, unsure of what to do. _" They are living proof of your plan in action aren't they?"_ she said while pointing an accusing finger at them.

 _" The runt... the runt wasn't hard was she Rose? After all, she was a failure since the moment she cracked through the walls of this cursed planet's crust."_ She paused for the umpteenth time to breath which was becoming more difficult as each breath became more and more labored. _"You didn't even have to try with her did you? She probably came crawling to you as if you were her Diamond, and she nothing more than a Pearl."_ Jasper said with a slight pause before continuing. _" No calling her a Pearl would be an insult to all the well made Peal's, not like the one you have here, she is an insult to Homeworld, a Pearl as a warrior, unheard of and utterly pathetic, nothing more than a scream and plea for attention from her owner._ "She said as she gave forth a cough that shook her entire eight foot frame _." No her pitiful existence is more comparable with that of, what I've heard humans call a dog; weak and unable to function or live without the support and constant false feeling of self worth their owner provides."_

That was the last straw for Amethyst who had begun burning with more and more rage until it finally burst through and caused her to confront Jasper. _"HEY, who do you think you're talking about here? I'm not just some other weakling that has to hid behind others...,"_ Amethyst was slightly interrupted by an agitated Peridot who could be heard uttering a very offended _"HEEEY!"_ before she continued on.

 _" I am not like just some pathetic worthless dog, and even if I was, that gives you no right to accuse of Rose of being a manipulative heartless warlord."_ As she was telling Jasper this she was slowly moving forward towards her, slightly slouched in a menacing sort of way, slightly as if she was trying to intimidate the giant behemoth, who was easily three times her size. Despite trying to have a straight and indifferent face, Jasper was genuinely surprised at the smaller quartz solider who showed so much loyalty to her commander.

" At least she has something going for her, loyalty IS one of the most valued traits of a gem, especially in a quartz solider. Well i guess that means she's not as a complete of a failure as i thought, although even in my rotting state she still has nothing against me," Jasper thought with a mental sneer. The look quickly vanished though as she continued to think," Well she has determination i'll give her that, it's not every millennium that you find a gem that is so willing to put their all into a battle that they will clearly lose . . . then again that does seem to be one of the key characteristics of the crystal gems, only seems natural that she would pick up on it and add the fact that they are really the only gems she knows, that trait would be accentuated. Honestly it's painful to admit this to even myself, but i guess i do have a small admiration of the runt, a small almost nonexistent one, but it is one none the less. Never thought the day would come that that would every happen, me the great Jasper, admiring a puny, defective, overcooked runt. Heh, this really is a chaotic day, first i'm losing myself to become a mindless beast, then i acknowledge this shrimp."

During her mental analysis of the situation Jasper failed to notice that Amethyst was still continuing her own rant, and was in fact getting very worked up _. "... So first you insult my family then you have the nerve to ignore everything that i have to say! You're just asking for it aren't you?! That's messed up even for you Jasper! your not going to let us help you anyways so could you at least do me the small favor and listen to me for once?! Just because you don't feel any connection between us doesn't mean i don't either, so at least give me a few moments to at least give me false hope of talking to my sister!"_ As Amethysts said the last word, everything just stooped, Jasper immediately snapped out of her trance-like thinking state to look up at her, Steven and Peridot eyes both widened to their maximum potential, their mouths slightly open in shock.

The world felt as if it was spiraling out of control for Jasper. None of what seemed to be happening seemed real at all."Maybe it's the side effects of corruption- reality fades into the realm of dreams" _,_ thought Jasper as a small chuckle escaped from her mouth.

The small chuckle slowly increased in volume and power until it became a full on crackle that sent a chill to the three crystal gems. So evil did the laugh sound that Peridot decided to resume her seemingly pointless effort to try and bend metal to her will in hopes of doing some damage to the behemoth. Amethyst on the other hand, took the cynical laughter as an insult. With nails that seemed to pierce through her skin, Amethyst opened her mouth as if to bark back a remark for the seemingly insult that Jasper was giving her.

Before she had the chance to however, Jasper ceased the laughter and glanced over Amethyst before laying her eyes on Steven.

 _"Alright get it over with all ready",_ was all that Jasper had to say to shock everyone still.

Since it seemed that she was personally addressing Steven he was the first to respond.

 _"W-What do you mean Jasper?",_ was all that Steven could muster at the moment, confusion and curiosity still working it's way though his system.

This only served to annoy Jasper, as she still thought that this was a figment of her delirious imagination, in death she should have control over some things, or at least be able to conjure up imaginary people who know what she means? _"Honestly",_ she thought _"_ At least in the end, can't anything be simple like it used to be?"

She sighed in defeat, almost giving up to lay down and wait for the end to take her in silence.

She decided against this, instead opting to humor her odd sense of imagination in her final moments.

 _"You know",_ she started. _"That healing thing you were talking about earlier, the one that you said could 'heal' me from this corruption"._ Despite the circumstances Jasper could still not help a smirk that screamed skepticism that challenged Steven to prove himself.

Steven was caught off guard by this. After all this time of trying to help her, she offered even dared him to help her? _"This is really a confusing day for all of us..."_ he stopped for a second as he spared a glance at Amethyst ,"Well i guess it hasn't been all that bad, Amethyst seems like she got a lot off of her chest today that's good..." he then turned to look at Jasper when an almost nonexistent smile flashed across his face. " And it's about to get better for her, after all who wouldn't be happy to get a new sister?"

With that in mind, Steven's "decision" became all to easy to make.

 _"Alright i'll do it",_ said Steven without the slightest hint of hesitation.

This was all the encouragement that Jasper needed. She started to get up and make the painfully slow trek over to Steven... To the complete horror of Steven and Amethyst.

 _"What are you doing Jasper!? You shouldn't move, you're only making the corruption spread faster! D-don't move stay there! I-I I'll go over there, j-just stay still!",_ said Steven as he saw Jasper lumbering over as well as watching the corruption slowly change her form as well.

Once Jasper stopped for a second, Steven didn't hesitate to run over immediately, Amethyst followed closely behind.

Peridot on the other hand ran the other way. Despite all that she had seen transpire the fear she had was still very real, and when she saw her lumbering her way she panicked. She ran towards the thing that made her fell safe, metal. As Steven and Amethyst reached Jasper, Peridot was desperately trying to pry one the the metal shard loose to use against Jasper if needed.

On the other side of the canon Steven and Amethyst reached Jasper as she fell down withering in pain. The corruption taking it's final toll on her, changing her shape into something unrecognizable to what she once was.

Seeing that she was close to the end, Steven immediately sprang into action.

Coating the palm of his hand with his healing spit, Steven launched himself at Jasper gem.

Jasper felt herself floating in an endless expanse.

There was still light, but what little was left of it was quickly fading, leaving her in darkness.

Now there was no more "light". What was "light"? How did she know about it?

She couldn't think...At least she thought that she couldn't.

Nothing made sense.

She didn't know where she was.

Or who she was.

Or what she was for that matter.

Wait-how did she know that she was a she?

What was a she anyways?

She decided to shrug it of as irreverent.

Or at least she thought she did.

What did these "words" mean anyways?

It was so weird, it was like she knew what she was thinking, what the words meant, but at the same time they sounded like hollow noises without any meaning behind them.

This was a weird place. But it was peaceful.

She didn't know where she was before this.

She almost didn't want to know.

All she wanted was this. Whatever "THIS" was.

She felt like she never felt before, at least she thought she hadn't before.

It didn't matter now though.

She was here now. and she wanted to stay.

Why would she leave?

She didn't know anything else. At least she thought she didn't.

Everything was so fuzzy.

It was as if she remembered, but if it wasn't her.

Not that it mattered, because here she was and here she was going to stay forever.

However, she couldn't help but feel something nag at the back of her head, disrupting the other wise perfect peace.

It didn't leave her alone.

She felt as if she was forgetting something, but what?

She didn't remember.

How could she, there had never been anything more that here, right?

Yet the feeling stayed.

Then she felt it, light again.

She felt it behind her closed eyes- wait closed eyes? When did she close them? When did she get eyes?

As she plundered about her dilemma the light continued to grow, calling to her.

She almost didn't want to go.

It was nice in here.

But the light kept calling.

She didn't know how, but the light actually felt PURPLE.

It called, soothingly to her.

It made her feel like everything was going to be all right.

She decided to listen to the voice. To trust it.

She followed it.

She followed the guidance of the voice until the purple light turn from a soothing glow to a harsh burning glaze.

And then she felt it, her consciousness coming back to her.

She felt her eyes open to the harshness of light, then she say it.

She saw her savior.

Amethyst.

Steven had lunged towards Jasper and covered her gem with his spit.

Jumping back he landed right in front of Amethyst, they both just stood there waiting.

Nothing happened.

They waited but Jasper didn't move, not even a twitch of a muscle.

Steven felt he stinging of tears in the corners of his eyes, had they been too late?

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Amethyst throw her self onto Jasper, tears streaming down her face.

Seeing this, Steven was unable to hold his grief any more. He fell to the ground on his knees. His hand desperately trying to keep up with amount of tears he was shedding as he tried to wipe them away.

He looked up at Amethyst.

She was kneeling in front of Jasper, tenderly holding her unrecognizable head. Maybe he was hearing things, but he thought he could hear her mumbling to Jasper as she lovingly started to stroke her mane as she slowly rocked the head back and forth.

Steven couldn't imagine how much this was hurting her.

"To care about someone so much and lose them.

Maybe this is how the gems felt when they lost mom, when dad lost mom.

Maybe this is how i would feel if i lost any of the gems, or dad, or...maybe even Connie."

While Steven was lost in thought he didn't notice when a dull yellow-orange light began to glow.

But Amethyst did.

As soon as she saw the light her words began to increase in volume, not once stopping for a pause.

 _"I'm here sis i'm here. Come towards me. What is that they saw? Oh yeah! Follow the light sis, follow the on i believe in you sis. Trust me you can do this. Come with me"_

At this Steven looked up to see a glow that slowly started to take the form of the Jasper they knew.

Then the light vanished and what was left was not an Amethyst cradling a monster, but an Amethyst cradling the body of a Jasper, of her sister.

Now the two crystal gems where crying, not out of sadness but of joy.

One for her sister, the other because of the happiness that the gem brought to his friend.

At that moment Jasper began to stir.

She opened her eyes and glanced up to see Amethyst pressed against her hair crying.

 _"Amethyst?"_ Jasper cried out weakly.

Amethyst backed away from Jasper's hair enough to get a good at her sister face to face, wiping away the tears as she did so.

 _"Yeah sis"_ , she said though choked sobs.

 _"Thank you",_ was all that Jasper managed to say before she closed her eyes once again.

The tender moment was sadly shattered as a large shard of metal flew passed them to impale Jasper and poof her physical form.

 _"YYYHHEEAAA!"_ was all that could be heard from behind as Peridot came running over, triumph written clearly on her face.

 _"How do you like that clod! HAHAHAHA!"_ As soon as she reach the others Peri became silent as the looks the two were giving her where not what she expected them to be.

 _"What did i do?"_ Asked Peridot in utter confusion.

Steven was the first to bark back an answer, anger clearly evident in his voice.

 _"You proofed her! She did nothing wrong Peridot! She's good now there was no reason to do that!"_ he yelled.

Peridot's face flushed with embarrassment as she tried to come up with an excuse and wave it off.

 _"W-well um... at least it will be easier to carry her back to the temple right?"_ Peridot retorted quickly, proud of her logical answer.

At this Steven calmed down a little _" Yeah-yeah i guess so",_ he said with a sigh, utterly exhausted by the days drama. _"Alright i think it's time we head home, we don't want Pearl and Garnet worrying about us."_ he said as both he and Peridot started to walk towards the warp pad.

As he was walking away he noticed that Amethyst wasn't behind him.

He looked back at her as he called out, _"Hey Amethyst aren't you coming?"_

Slightly startled Amethyst stood up immediately from her spot where she had been looking at Jasper's gem. _"Y-Yeah i'll be right there!"_ , she replied back.

Upon hearing this Steven decided to go ahead, he could wait for her at the warp pad.

As Steven started to leave Amethyst bent down to pick up the gem in front of her.

Once she picked it up she nuzzled it close to her chest and her own gem.

 _"Come on sis, let's go home",_ was the last thing she said to Jasper before she turned to catch up with Steven and Peridot.


	2. Not Alone

After the events that occurred at the beat kindergarten, things had calmed down. Both Steven and Amethyst forgave Peridot for poofing Jasper as they understood that she did it out of fear.

When they arrived back at the temple Amethyst hurried to place Jasper's gem on Steven's bed claiming, _'What? It's comfortable man, who wouldn't want to wake up on something as soft as a cloud?'_ Leaving no room for Steven to try and argue against Amethyst he dropped the subject and let Amethyst take over his bed.

With Amethyst looking after Jasper, Peridot having headed home as soon as they warped into the temple, and Pearl and Garnet on a mission Steven had nothing to do so he busied himself by heading to the Big Doughnut, he deserved something nice after what he had just been through.

On the way to the shop, Steven had more than enough alone time to allow what happened at the kindergarten to sink in. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. He and Amethyst actually fused his first fusion with another gem. The most impressive thing was the fact that he actually was able to heal a corrupted gem. Wait-

Now that he thought about it, this meant that this was the first time that he ever completl- no this would be the first time that ANYONE ever completely healed a corrupted gem!

With this thought, Steven's chest swelled with pride, just a bit.

All this time, he had felt that everyone only ever compared him to his mother...just to remind and taunt him of the things he couldn't do, of the reasons everything was so much worse for the Gems. When this first happened, it was when the Red Eye first tried to descend on Earth. when the Gems couldn't destroy it on their own, Amethyst made a comment about how easy it would have been if only ROSE would have been there, they had said that right in front of Steven- as if he didn't exist, as if he didn't matter, as if it was HIS fault that SHE wasn't there to make everything better.

Of course everything worked out...eventually...he was able to find his mom's light cannon with the help of his dad. Although it would have helped if the light cannon would have gone off on the first attempt rather than at the last second, they were able to destroy the Red Eye and keep Earth safe... But, the feeling had never left him, the feeling that the Gems viewed him as useless and a nuisance as the sad 'replacement, that would never amount to the greatness that was his mom. He would NEVER, no matter how hard he tried, be able to amount to the legacy his mom had left him.

She was a leader, an exemplary solider, great women, a good friend, and above all, a hero.

While he was the son of that hero, the boy stuck inside the shadow of his mothers legacy.

Like he would always be.

Steven shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the thoughts, **" no I shouldn't think like that, the gems love me. A-and besides I have dad and Connie, they don't care if I every live up to what mom has accomplished, all they care is that I'm the best me I could be...and that's all that should matter to me",** he thought with a small smile on his face, which grew into a smirk with his next thought.

 **"And besides I have done what even mom couldn't do, I healed a corrupted gem".** With this, it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from Steven's shoulders as if he had finally proven himself worthy, worthy of being Rose's son.

Haveing been lost in thought Steven didn't even notice that he had already arrived at the Big Doughnut until he almost ran into the front door.

As he opened the door he was greeted by Sadie and Lars. He greeted them back, not really wanting to get into it with Lars today Steven asked for his order quickly, ordering a little something for Amethyst as well knowing that she would appreciate it especially after all she had been through. After a brief conversation with Sadie as Lars filled his order, Steven paid for his purchase and started to head home, bit decided to head over to his dad's. He felt as if he needed to vent to someone and no one was a better listener than his dad.

His plans where foiled almost immediately however, as Amethyst came running towards him.

 _"Steven!",_ she called as she caught up with him.

Steven stopped to face Amethyst, wondering why she was looking for him. It must have been really important if she was willing to leave Jasper's gem, or maybe she already reformed? No if that happened there was no way that Amethyst would have left, so what could it be?

 _"Oh hey Amethyst! What are you doing here, how's Jasper is something wrong?",_ Steven asked the last part with a worried voice, mentally preparing himself for the worst.

Amethyst waved off the questions seriousness, _"Pfft, clam down Steven nothings wrong. She hasn't even reformed. Actually, I came to ask you to look after her while i go away for a little while."_

This got Steven's attention. Since Jasper had been poofed by Peridot, Amethyst had been very protective of Jasper, not even willing to leave her side since they got back to the temple and now here she was away from Jasper as well as leaving to do something? What was she going to do, and why leave Steven in charge of Jasper?

Steven couldn't figure it out and decided to voice his confusion _" What do you mean that i watch over her? Where are you going, i thought you would be exited to be by her side when she reformed?" ,_ He questioned tilting his head slightly as he asked.

Amethyst seemed to have been expecting this and answered without missing a beat _,"Oh, huh, well you see Steven i'm going to go see if i can catch Pearl and Garnet before they go back to the temple to give them the jist of what's happened. You know, so they don't think that Jasper is attacking us if they walk in after Jasper has reformed? I thought it would be better for all of us, but i didn't want to leave Jasper alone just in case."_

Amethyst saw a bit of uncertainty in Steven's eyes of being left alone with Jasper. She had seen this look before when Steven started to doubt himself, it did make a little sense Jasper still thought of him as Rose,nothing was to say that she didn't have anything against him for who she thought he was, after all even Amethyst didn't know the history between Rose and Jasper. **"Steven does have a history of self doubt, maybe he needs a bit of encouragement"** , she thought.With a flick of her hair Amethyst gave a small glance at her fingernails before adding while glancing thought the corner of her eye, _"Besides, i think that she trusts you, i mean she did ask you to heal her right?"_

The fact that it was Jasper that he had to look after was not what was raising the concern in knew that things would be on a rocky start no matter what the circumstances would have been between him and Jasper. I mean if he woke up in the heart of his previously mortal enemies home base, he wouldn't exactly have the best of reactions, especially after just recovering from such a stressful event such as corruption, something that literally makes a gem lose the core of their being to turn into a mindless shell of what they used to. So mindless that they don't even remember what they were supposed to look like.

No, this he could could handle this. What was really bothering him actually had nothing to do with him, it was about Amethyst. What if she missed it when Jasper reformed? She would probably be devastated if she missed it, not to mention that Amethyst seemed to be the one that Jasper trusted the most. If anything it almost seemed that Amethyst was the main if not only reason that Jasper had allowed herself to be healed, it seemed as if she was cooperative with Amethyst around. Would things be different if it was only Steven instead of Amethyst?

While trying to figure it out Steven evaluated the situation again, Amethyst did have a point. If the rest of the Gems walked into the temple with Jasper causally lounging around they probably wouldn't take it that well. Even so why was she going? She could stay with Jasper while he went out looking for the other two. So why did she feel like it had to be her?

Unable to hold back his curiosity Steven voiced his answer and question _," I guess, but why are you going? I mean i could always go myself you know?"_

That's when the gears in Steven's head started to turn, he realized what was really going on and why Amethyst was actually going.

 _"Is it because you don't trust me to go alone?! REALLY?! After all this time and all we've been through you still don't trust me to do such a simple ta-",_ Steven was abruptly interrupted by Amethyst as she quickly realized what Steven was saying.

 _"No no no!",_ She said as she frantically waved her hands in front of her to emphasize her point. _"That's not what i meant at all!"_ She said. Steven looked slightly taken back by this _"Your not?"_ , he asked as he wiped the tears that had started to form in the corners of his eyes. _"No of course not!",_ she responded. _"It's just, you know how overprotective Pearl is over you. She would probably flip if she knew you went after them all alone, so for the sake of what's on the line i decided to play it safe and look for them myself."_ , she concluded as she placed a reassuring hand on Steven's shoulder. _"And besides",_ she started as she began walking away, giving off an evil glint of knowing in her eyes. _"Wouldn't you rather deal with Jasper than a ranting, frenzied Pearl? If anything i'm saving you!"_

With an ever so slight shudder, Steven realized that Amethyst was once again right. If it came down to the worst case scenario of both situations, Steven would rather deal with a crazed Jasper than a crazed Pearl any day. Pearl's lectures and guilt trips where legendary, they had to be to be able to keep Amethyst in check, even if only for a while. The to mention those looks she made when she became really worried, they could melt the most cold hearted of souls into wanting to make her happy again at any cost.

 _"No i think i would rather face Jasper any day!",_ Steven said with a light chuckle as he sweat-dropped, scratching the back of his neck in slight embarrassment.

Amethyst paused as she gave a lighthearted laugh of her own to this _," Yeah you got that right, and if you were lectured for going just imagine how bad it would be for me for letting you go!"_ she said as she started to head back to the temple once again. Steven just stood there for a second too long.

As soon as Amethyst realized that Steven wasn't following she turned around with a encouraging smile. _"Well aren't you coming? i'm kinda counting on you to be able to do this ya know?",_ she said as she placed her hands on her hips, waiting for him to come over already.

Steven couldn't help but smile at her antics, no matter what happened Amethyst could always make him smile. Maybe that's why she was the first gem to be able to fuse with him, she just understood him so well.

With that thought in mind his smile only grew larger as he ran to catch up with her.

Once he did, she gave his hair a small ruffle before running ahead. Deciding to play along Steven also took off running until it turned into a full on race all the way back to the temple.

Once they got back to the temple Amethyst gave her final farewell to both Steven and Jasper before she warped away to where she had heard that Pearl and Garnet had gone to, leaving Steven alone to look after Jasper's gem.

Not knowing what to do and not wanting to lay on the bed to watch the T.V, as a courtesy to Jasper he decided to play some games that Connie had recommended for him on his phone.

He decided to play a relatively simple one called 'Piano Tiles 2' pretty self explanatory, all he had to do was press the tiles as they appeared on the screen, if he missed one or pressed on a wrong 'tile' he lost and had to start all over. Easy enough. Sitting down besides the bed so he could be fully aware if anything changed with Jasper, Steven set off to play his new game.

It was only after a few rounds that Steven realized how addicting the game could be. Every time he played he could feel a slight rush accompanied with the disappointment deep in his heart when he actually lost the game, then more determined to win then ever. On and on he played, so much in fact that he was able to 'unlock' more and more complicated songs. He became so in grossed that he was more than willing to 'pay' for more lives with the little golden things given to him when he played enough on a song.

Steven became so engrossed on the that he had not felt the time go by. He also didn't notice when a light started to glow, as a gem was slowly lifted up. The gem started to make a mannequin like shape before it started to take on more identifiable and display more prominent features. It wasn't until this stage that Steven started to notice what was happening around him. When he saw that Jasper was starting to reform, he backed away from the bed he had previously been leaning on.

Even a few seconds later shocked was still evident on his face as he scooted a little closer after the initial shock had passed over him.

The final part of reforming was coming to an end, which caused Jasper to fall down into Steven's bed, eyes shooting open as it happened. As her short free fall occurred she looked around quickly before almost instantly having her eyes fall on Steven before, the impact.

As she landed the bed held her for a second, that is before the bed all but collapsed right beneath her, not able to hold the sheer mass that was Jasper.

The moment the mattress met the floor Jasper shot up, quickly backing away from Steven until she met the edge of the bed and fell over onto the floor.

At almost the same moment that she hit the ground she shot back up. Steven on the other hand was still sitting down, exaggerating the height difference between the two even more.

The two stared at each other, almost as if time had stopped. Not even a single muscle twitched between the two.

Surprisingly, it was Jasper who made the first move. She raised her hand, causing Steven to cower in fear thinking that it was coming for him. Nothing ever happened though as the hand just came to rest softly on Jasper's head, slowly sitting down as she did that.

A soft, almost desperate chuckle escaped Jasper. _"So this wasn't all a dream, was it?",_ she asked to no one in particular.

Steven looked around nervously, not knowing if he should answer or not.

Steven never had a chance to really give that a thought as Jasper's eyes lost their lost and far off look as they became locked onto Steven's own eyes.

Time seemed to stop as Jasper seemingly glared at Steven's very soul. Steven began to wonder if it had really been a good idea that Amethyst left him alone with a gem easily over three times his height and much, MUCH stronger.

Before Steven could really start to contemplate all of his life decisions as they flashed before his eyes, he was interrupted by a voice that he did not expect at all.

 _"So um, where is that Amethyst anyways?",_ She asked as she finished giving the room a quick scan, to make sure that they where the only ones in there.

Steven was a little shocked, not that he should have been really, he was sort of expecting Jasper to have the best connection with Amethyst. After all, she was the one who was able to guide jasper out of corruption when all had seemed lost.

 _"S-She went out, to go tell the other crystal gems that you would be here, y-you know, so they wouldn't attack you?"_ , Steven responded as he started to get up. His eyes on Jasper the entire way up, looking to see if she made a move against him.

Jasper however did not make a move towards him at all, instead seemed to be slightly lost in thought for a moment before asking, _"When will she be back?"_

Taken slightly aback by her new question, Steven continued to stutter a little. _"I-I'm not really sure. She only had a general idea of where to look, s-so it might be a while.",_ he said as he walked over to her, no longer as afraid. If anything she seemed to have no intention of harming him or even of escaping it, so it seemed safe to approach her.

She seemed to be nodding off lost in thought, a she was deep in thought of what too next.

Out of nowhere as Steven approached her, she stood up. Her hulking frame easily overshadowing Steven's own small body. Fearing for the worst he did what he thought was the best option at the moment, he created a bubble around him, to at least give him some protection.

Jasper looked down as she saw a spec of pink from the corner of her eye. She was greeted with a view of a cowering Steven within his pink bubble. She couldn't help but feel annoyance crawl through her system as she gazed down on this-this...thing.

She still wasn't sure what it was, it said that it was not Rose Quartz, yet it had her gem. She didn't know what it meant, but IT should at least have the brains to figure out that if she hadn't done anything threatening by now she wasn't interested in causing it any harm. She rolled her eyes at the thought, yet when she looked back at it, it was still shivering slightly, eyeing her with caution. She couldn't help but sigh at this creatures pathetic look, feeling compelled to reassure it, at least until that Amethyst arrived to explain everything, she wouldn't try and aggravate any situation and keep to herself as much as possible.

Trying to be as nonthreatening as possible, she knelled down to IT'S eye level. _"Hey, it's alright. If i would have wanted to hurt you i could've done it already." '_ **OK maybe that wasn't the best way to put that',** she thought as she flinched slightly in anticipation on how it might act. To her surprise the bubble dispelled as it started to walk over towards her once again.

It stood right in front of her when it suddenly shot its hand forward where it hovered right between the two. Jasper looked at the small appendage slightly confuse. What was she supposed to do? Did this gesture hold a secret meaning for this thing?

She turned her attention from the appendage to the face of the owner, only to find it looking intently at her, smiling. _"Hi, my name is Steven, nice to finally meet you on good terms Jasper.",_ said this 'Steven' said, it's arm still hanging in the air. _"Your supposed to shake my hand",_ giggled this Steven thing. _"See you just hold my hand and move it up and down, it means nice to meet you, but you say you name as you do it."_ ,Steven said.

Jasper looked at the hand once more before deciding to follow along with this Steven things ceremonial ritual for greeting. _"Hello? I'm Jasper, nice to meet you Ste-venn?"_ she said as she lightly held his hand, her entire hand overtaking Steven's much smaller hand, or so she thought.

Steven on the other hand felt as if his hand was getting crushed, he quickly decided to end the lesson there, or risk his hand losing circulation and fall off.

 _"Y-yeah th-this is called a handshake and you do it to introduce yourself to someone else, someone you don't really know. Although you really shouldn't hold peoples hands this hard",_ Steven said as he started to sweat a little as he started to lose the feeling in his hand.

Jasper let go of Steven's hand reluctantly. She became shocked as Steven violently yanked his hand away to reveal a red and bruising hand.

She was taken back at the sight of the slightly teary eye Steven as he held his hand close to his chest. _"_ **These creatures are so delicate, i barely even put any pressure on his hand, and he already looks injured."** she thought as she leaned a little closer, actually worried about this gem baring creature.

 _"Are you OK? I didn't mean to hurt you, i didn't hold your hand that hard."_ Steven looked up at Jasper, a smile on his face despite his discomfort. _"I'm fine Jasper, it's just that you have a stronger grip than i thought you did, It's not your fault you probably just don't know your own strength i mean there was never really a reason for you to hold back so i get it.",_ he said as he held out his other hand, touching her thick,muscular legs. _"At least you didn't do it on purpose right?",_ he said as Jasper slowly garbed Steven's hand, cradling his hand on her massive lap. _"Yeah",_ she said quietly.

A thousand emotions and thoughts seemed to flash through her eyes as she looked down at the damaged limb that rested in her lap.

Suddenly the sound of a warp pad activating was heard behind them.

Quickly followed by a high pitched screech that sounded almost like the name Steven, if a bird were saying it at least.

Both Steven and Jasper turned towards this sound, One wondering what that strange sound was while the other knew exactly what it was and what was about to come.

 _"What are you doing here and what are you doing to Steven, Y-you get away from him this instant",_ the voice continued to say.

What stood before them where some of the most dangerous creatures this planet has ever seen, a very angry Garnet and a very overprotective mama Pearl, both with their weapons out and ready to essentially slay whatever stood between them and their baby Steven.

And the one who stood in that position was Jasper, completely clueless of the she was in. She didn't know that you never get between a mother bear and her cub, but she would soon find out what the term mamma bear meant and why it was so feared by those on the reviving end like she was.

And Steven knew it.


	3. The First Step Is Always the Hardest

Before Steven could react to stop the situation Pearl shot forward, fueled by her unnatural maternal instincts towards Steven, and made a straightforward attack towards Jasper.

Being the soldier she was, Jasper did not even hesitate before calling forth her helmet to stop the spear's attack, already preparing for the clash that would most likely ensue between the two, four if she counted the fusion that would most likely join the battle soon. The Crystal Gems were notorious for their teamwork as well as their heavy reliance on fusion, at least in her experience.

"Because unlike me they have gems that want to stay together with, to be powerful together..." Jasper shook her head, trying to rid herself of these was not the time to think about her failures, she had a fight to win. She finished her thought as she jumped down from Steven's sleeping area to the more spacious first floor, which allowed her not only more maneuverability to attack and avoid attacks, but it also left less room for surprises as this room also gave her more field vision from all sides as there were fewer obstacles to obscure her vision.

Once Jasper jumped down. Garnet decided it was time for her to intervene as she saw Pearl chasing after Jasper, yet failing to land a solid hit that was not blocked by Jasper's her gauntlets she jumped forward planning to catch Jasper on her left as Pearl went for her right, but being in countless fights for the last few millenniums as well as literally being made for fighting, Jasper was more than prepared for this.

Despite her large frame and mass, she nimbly jumped out of Pearl's way, avoiding her spear while at the same time grabbing on to the back of Garnet's head. In a split second, Jasper went from a mid-air position to utterly slamming Garnet's head into the floor, all her weight behind her hand adding to the already formidable force.

The impact created a crater that all but shattered the 'downstairs' floor, leaving nothing more than broken and unstable flooring to what used to be Steven's house. Seeing this, Steven could not help but watch in horror as the scene escalated in tension, Jasper still standing on top of Garnet, using her foot to keep her down while using her arm to keep the much smaller in place as Pearl helplessly tried to swing at Jasper, but failing because of her much smaller arm reach only ended up swinging the air while Jasper concentrated on keeping the power couple from moving.

Panic grew inside of Steven as he saw the events start to escalate even further as Jasper took hold of Pearl and slammed her where Garnet was, raising both hands, preparing to slam them on the two, the intent of poofing even shattering them clearly evident.

 _"NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!",_ Steven yelled. He took off running at speeds he never knew he could reach. In a split second, Jasper brought down her hands, ready for the 'kill'. She was shocked when she made contact with not the Gems she was aiming for, but face to face with a shield she knew very well. Rose's pink shield.

She pulled back her hand slightly shocked, although she knew she shouldn't be. She had already seen what the shield could do, even in the hands of this thing. It was more than capable of stopping her, she knew that, she also knew that this creature was as loyal to his army as Rose had once been so the fact it had come to their aid was not surprising; so why was she surprised at this?

Her pride. That was the only answer she had. She knew that she was argent, she heard it from the other gems. They all thought she couldn't hear them, she wasn't considered the perfect quartz solider for nothing, she had exceptional senses, weeellll- besides smell that is, for obvious reasons- that had never been her strong suit, but she WAS good at keeping it hidden. It was all about image and reputation back on home world, if you had a powerful image and reputation you where treated powerful. The Diamond were proof of that even her Diamond- her REAL Diamond, the one who colonized Earth and made her, Pink Diamond. As a Diamond she had a powerful image-one that seemed even larger than life, yet she was taken down by an average quartz. Granted a more rare and powerful Gem than most, but she still was just another gem, yet she managed to kill a being only surpassed in her true glory by her reputation and image.

Which seemed to have been her downfall, even if she was known as the weaker of the Diamond authority she was still respected as the others and viewed in the same regard, unstoppable, yet she now lived as a symbol for all of gem kind, no even the Diamonds are above everything. It was through sheer petty ignorance of themselves that the Diamonds thought they where invincible, that they where unshatterable and that ignorance was their weakness, as it was hers.

This wasn't the first time that ignorance had gotten the best of her either. Even her first encounter with the gems turned out bad because she was so sure she could defeat them easily, well she was also mad about Rose, but- it was still her arrogance had blinded her into underestimating her opponents. This was why they were able to escape so easily, both her and Peridot had not thought that they where a threat, so they had the element of surprise on their side.

Which lead into a spiral that lead to where she was right now, all going back to her moment of arrogance.

Snapping out of her thoughts and back into reality, she was greeted with the scene of Steven holding his shield up, tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes, threatening to spill over at anytime. Behind him where the other two gems who were starting to get up from the crater they had been lodged into. As they took the time to stand up, they summoned their weapons again, which had been dispersed during their beating- curtsy of Jasper. In the seconds it took for them to stand up, they where already in preparing for the next fight, weapons in hand.

Seeing this, Jasper also got battle ready, getting into a fighting stance, also summoning her weapon which had been dispersed during her moment of shock. Both parties where ready, waiting for a movement from each other, a moment to strike.

Steven, however, was having none of that on his watch. Dispersing his shield, he quickly got in the middle of the three gems, hands up towards the two opposing sides, an easy sign to read. Stop.

The Crystal Gems saw this and slacked their stance, not willing to hurt their precious baby, but still prepared for an attack from Jasper, not trusting her at all, but having made a silent promise to Steven, didn't make a move towards her. Jasper on the other didn't know Steven that well and did not get the message he was sending. She didn't move though, almost able to taste the tension in the air she didn't want to escalate the situation, especially against gems who have proven capable against her.

In an almost comical way the three stared each other down, typical western movie standoff music seemingly playing in the background.

The gems were so engrossed in their "movie scene moment" that even Steven failed to notice the sound of a ward pad being activated behind them. Or the noisy gem that came into the room.

 _"Yo Steve-man, i couldn't find them at the place, man you should have seen it, it was HUGE. I could have stayed there for HOURS and not have found them, so i decided to just turn back and ho-",_ she stopped mid-sentence. Throughout the beginning of her statement, Amethyst had been playing with her hair, which ended up covering her face for most of time she was talking. It wasn't until she brushed the hair out of the way that she saw the situation going before her. She looked around, seeing a sizable crater, a beat up looking garnet and Pearl, a VERY annoyed looking Jasper, and a teary eyed Steven. She could only imagine what had gone down in the time she was gone.

All the gems turned towards Amethyst, taken aback by her appearance, all tension seemingly lose in the split second of their surprise. With all eyes on her Amethyst felt a little unsure on what to do or what to even do in the situation. Giving it a thought she concluded that finding out what happened and how this transpired was the best course of action given the circumstances.

Deciding against jumping to conclusions, Amethyst started to form word to voice her question of what had happened in this room, but before she could even voice a single word a very wild and emotional Pearl beat her to it.

 _"Amethyst! Do you know what's going on? What is Jasper doing here, how did she get in here?! And why is she here, what does she want, does she want to finish off where she left off-",_ Pearl was bombarding Amethyst with questions without even giving her a chance to answer them, until Garnet came from behind and placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder, shutting her up with unspoken words.

Pearl turned to face Garnet, which met her with an seemingly impassive look to the untrained eye, but to the Crystal Gems it spoke volumes.

It meant she knew something. The blessing of a fusion, double the mind, clearer the head.

 _"Pearl calm down, you won't get any answers if you asked questions without waiting for an answer, you'll only confuse Amethyst."_

" _Heyy! Garnet I thought you were on my side"._

This comment sparked a huge commotion between the Crystal Gems, Pearl and Amethyst as usual started to argue between themselves. Garnet watch over, almost like a referee to make sure things didn't get too out of hand, only entering the conversation when needed or prompted by one of the other two gems, and despite seemingly being uninterested she was very engaged in the argument. Steven as usual tried to act as the voice of reason and calm down the situation, but only to fall on deft ears.

Meanwhile Jasper stood only a few feet away completely dumbfounded. Had they simply forgotten her, an enemy who they where just fighting seconds ago, and in their own home base no less. It made her wonder how THESE gems, out of the countless things she had faced, where able to beat her. It would seem that this would always be a mystery to her.

The argument only escalated in volume and intensity. Jasper stood there quietly, not really sure what to do, she had never been placed in a situation like this before, and it wasn't exactly something they covered in the quartz solider training "academy".

Still the Crystal Gems went on with their arguments, as if the destruction of the house and the fight with Jasper never happened.

Jasper could not help but defy the laws of physics, and it was on that day that a light based form sweat dropped, of course a face palm was almost mandatory to follow suit. It was almost comical, the situation that she was in, she could never have imagined she would ever be in this type of position, it was almost enough to make her laugh. In a flash all the humor she felt completely evaporated, her eyes hardening into steel. She still had something to do, she had to confront this Amethyst what she had been talking about before, what exactly this "sis" business was all about and what it meant, and she wouldn't stop until she had answers.

Looking back at the Crystal gems nothing seemed to have changed, they where still having their "discussion". She wasn't going to wait for them to finish, she needed answers and she needed them now.

Still a little uncertain what to do, it could be said that the great Jasper was a little shy perhaps, although she would have completely denied it, she still had her dignity after all.

Deciding to keep her "high class" persona she opted for her normal way of confronting the gems. _"Hey",_ was she said, hands across her chest to add to her image of fearlessness.

All moment and commotion ceased with that one word. Everyone was frozen for half a second, Steven in the middle previously Pearl to try and calm her down but now turned towards Jasper , Pearl had her hands up as if trying to emphasize a point, steam seemingly coming out of her head, a priceless look of anger on her face. Garnet had her cool and calm posture, as always, hands on her hips her face which had previously been looking down at the others now gazed upon Jasper.

Amethyst was the last to turn, being the most riled up of the group. Still made at Pearl, she had temperately forgotten who was there with them, so when turning around of course she did it with attitude to annoy Pearl, which meant flipping her hair as she turned so it could hit Pearl. As she made a full turn she crossed her hands over her chest, pouting a little as she looked out of the corner of her eye to see Pearl's reaction. All of that was forgotten the second she saw orange from her peripheral vision. Her anger and attitude flew out the window as a curtain of happiness came over Amethyst when she saw Jasper head on.

It almost looked as if Amethyst was ready to jump into Jasper's arm, her eyes had stars in them, happiness literally beaming within them. She seemed to notice this and toned it down a bit, stars no longer visible in her eyes, but her excitement was still very much noticeable. _"Hey Jasper hows it going? How are you do you feel OK? What happened in here-",_ a small pause ensued as she gave a once over to the damages to the house. As she turn back towards the much larger gem she couldn't help but give a playful smirk, and of course it was accompanied by slightly raised eyebrow as she continued with a light chuckle, _" Cause, wow you really did give this room a number huh, seems like you had an interesting time."_

From behind Amethyst the other participants of the destruction of the house each produced a blush, on more noticeable than the other, still embarrassed even if the comment wasn't directed at them personally.

Jasper however did not realize that this was a playful jab and the insult was taken a little too seriously. _"No, it wasn't. I merely did what i had to too avoid any harm to myself, even if this structure had to be sacrificed in the process",_ said Jasper with a dignified and serious tone, her posture radiating with the discipline that was instilled by Homeworld.

Amethyst's face fell a little in surprise, not having expected for her to take the jab literally or even seriously at all. She didn't know how to respond to this, so she tried her best to play it cool. _"Um, yeah..I guess I understand...",_ she started to scratch the back of her head as she tried to think of something 'appropriate' to say. No one ever said that Jasper was completely clueless in the social game, she picked up the que of awkwardness and acted accordingly. _"It's a solider thing, you may not really comprehend it."_ But then again- no one really said she was any good at it either.

Amethyst felt slight annoyance at this, but she let it pass, as she realized that Jasper was a lot like Peridot in the whole 'social' thing. "Must be a Homeworld thing", This was the only answer that Amethyst could think of to explain the shared awkwardness of all the Homeworld gems she had met... Well she had only met a handful of them, but still.

Jasper seemed unfazed by Amethyst's reaction to her comment. But this was getting her nowhere and she couldn't wait any longer however, the questions she had burned in the back of her mind, turning and twisting as she tried to come up with a feasible answer but none came that where even remotely logical. She needed answers and the only one who could give her any decent answer, in her mind, was Amethyst.

Steeling hr nerves she prepared to voice her questions as the Amethyst in front of her seemed to be processing her last statement. It was odd to her how nervous she was, why would she be? There was no reason to be at all. Almost instantly she shook it off, just another part of 'this planet' that affected her.

Jasper started to make her way, to stand directly in front of the Amethyst, she practically feel the tension from the two other gems behind the Amethyst, not that she cared let them do as they pleased just as long as they didn't intervene with the business she had with the Amethyst. As she looked down at the Amethyst in front of her, she stumbled a little in how to address her, she was sure that all those edict standards on Homeworld didn't apply here, this gem wouldn't even recognize it if she did.

So she improvised.

 _"UM-greeting, Prime kindergarten Amethyst",_ started Jasper. Amethyst was confused for half a second, almost immediately though she realized what Jasper was trying to say. _"Oh um you don't have to-"_ , she was stopped halfway through her statement that Jasper didn't have to address her in a formal way.

A silence overtook the destroyed room, as Jasper uttered five simple words to the small Amethyst in front of her.

 _"Why did you save me?"_


	4. Whoever Said Earth was Sane?

_"Why did you save me?"_

No one was expecting a question like this. The atmosphere changed so quickly that one could have sworn they could hear the suction of air from around them.

The reactions provoked by these five simple words varied greatly amongst all the Crystal Gems. Pearl was of course, completely confused, not knowing at all what was happening or what it meant. Garnet continued to display her poker-like default expression she normally had, although if one looked closely, a glimmer of knowing shined off of her shades, which could easily be attributed to her future vision, now that she knew what she was looking for- nothing could escape her vision. Steven actually knew what was going on, for the most part, so he was mostly curious at Amethyst's response. Then there was the Gem in the middle of all of this, Amethyst herself.

There she stood in the spotlight, she almost felt as if everyone was looking down at her, although they actually quite literally were due to her height. Her fiery nature almost forced her to stare 'down' Jasper, even if she didn't mean to be rude. If not for the circumstances, it would have been a funny seen such a small body staring down such and imposing figure. As if a chihuahua was trying to scare off a great dane with its shear size, cute, yet hilarious to those around them.

 _"Why do you want to know",_ was the only response Amethyst gave to Jasper's question. Maybe she was just genuinely curious about why she cared, or she may even have been testing her, to she if she had really changed and if she was no longer a threat. But, knowing Amethyst, on the other hand, all she really wanted out of Jasper's answer, regardless of what it may be, was to get to know her. They didn't have much knowledge about her as a gem, only as a soldier, and Amethyst was more than ready to look past her stoic image and get to know the 'real' Jasper, even if it turned out that her warrior side was her true side. She just needed to know for herself and for Jasper, to be able t, on the other hand,

Jasper was in complete shock, as was everyone else in the room to a certain extent, except for Amethyst of course. She wasn't expecting this answer at all,and as she thought about it, she really didn't have an answer for it. Why didn't she want to know so bad? Of course one would be curious of the intent their 'savior' had when saving them. But she not only just wanted to know, she NEEDED to know.

Jasper knew she couldn't just say "i don't know" to the gem in front of her, it wouldn't be enough of an top of that she knew that the thing with them was the one who had healed her physical form, but not her mental self; she needed to know why the Amethyst went the extra mile to save her when she would have seemed like a lost cause to everyone else. But she couldn't ask that, not now at least, that was a more private question. Knowing this she decided to respond with the next best answer she could think of on the spot while still being honest, but not revealing of the true meaning of her question.

 _"I was just curious why you, an enemy of Homeworld would save a solider of your enemy. As a solider i'm intrigued by your armies strategy, it makes no sense, even if it is only a ploy to recruit more soldiers it would be more trouble than it is worth. The risk of a spy or error would be too great, not to mention the time and resources that would be used in their expense without guarantee that they won't turn traitor on you in favor of Homeworld and loyalty to all they have ever known, so why try at all?"_ , She questioned as she ever so slightly shifted her wight from one thickly set leg to the other.

All of the crystal gems turned to look at each other in confusion. they had never thought of it that way. Sure they had used that same strategy during the war, they needed all the help they could get especially since they where quite literally out bested in every way by Homeworld in every way. All except Amethyst.

 _"I wasn't thinking of you as solider of my enemy",_ was Amethyst's only response. Which only lead to more questions that Jasper had, if not an enemy, what was she to this small Amethyst?

 _"Then what am i to you?",_ asked Jasper in a serious tone. Giving her undivided attention to amethyst she squatted down and lean forward to be at eye level with the smaller gem.

Despite the much smaller height gap, Amethyst still had to look up at Jasper to see her eye to eye. Being so close to her Jasper could see every muscle and movement that Amethyst made, and in almost a slow motion type matter she physically saw the words leave the purple gems mouth. _"You are my sister who came from the same place i did."_

Time seemed to stop for a moment, as the gears inside of Jasper head could almost be hear as they processed what they just heard the much smaller gem say.

Sadly she took it to literally.

 _"Your from the Prime kindergarten, I'm from the Beta, we are not from the same,"_ said Jasper, quite literally staring down the purple gem.

Amethyst almost face palmed at this, she knew that Jasper was a solider; and tended to take things quite literally- but this was overboard. For a gem that had mastered the art of sarcasm, she really didn't have a good grasp on the concept as a whole.

 _"That's not what i meant, i mean we are both made right here on Earth. Maybe we came from different parts of it, but it's still Earth, and that makes us connected,"_ she said as she opened up her hands to emphasis her point.

Jasper was still very confused. This was a new concept, a foreign concept that she has only 'witnessed' on Earth, it SURE wasn't present in her native culture. The small gem seemed to insinuate unity of some sorts, based on the place of origin. She had never heard of something so ridicules before. Unity was forged by 'bonds' that were present in them from the moment of creation. It was the loyalty to the Diamond authority, the only bond we needed to fulfill our intended purposes. What does location have to do with that? Before no matter where the gem originated from, they all ended up serving the Diamonds.

Maybe that was it. She never served Homeworld, never left the Earth, and maybe that was the cause of her disoriented views. This planet has influenced her with it's own views and 'ideals'onto her. Is that what she meant by sister? Was this a Earth term to identify with someone on a certain level, and if so what did it mean? She needed to know.

 _"What is a sister, and what makes me one?",Jasper asked, her face unwavering since squatting down to Amethyst's level._

Amethyst was taken back, not by the actual question, but the fact that she didn't really have a solid and understandable explanation for Jasper. Human culture is heavily based on emotions and structures that are foreign to beings like the gems, and for a gem who was especially distant from that type of emotion; of coarse she did have emotion, but rage and raw pride- it may be difficult to comprehend. The things Amethyst had heard about Homeworld did not help either. From what she had heard, they where bent on hierarchy structure over actual bonds, it was actually the reason Garnet joined the Crystal Gems, to be able to have the bond she does within herself- the bond of love between Ruby and Sapphire.

She couldn't put the explanation into words, it's not something that should be expressed through words alone. No words in all of the cosmos could ever come close to being able to accurately relay the raw power that these emotions had over the 'heart'. Over the beings it affects.

It just couldn't b done. So she couldn't do it.

She would have to show her.

" _I can't tell you what it is-",_ she started before she was momentarily cut off by Jasper's furious face. But she help up her hands in defense, and as a sign that there was more she had to say. Seeing that Jasper calmed down a BIT, she continued. _"It's not something that can be tough or shown or even explained, it's something you feel deep inside and it sort of connects people-even if they don't want to be part of the connection, they 's just, ugh- that's really the best way i can explain to you in words, the best way to explain it to someone is to show them, but that takes time."_ Amethyst paused for a second, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do, she didn't care what the others thought, especially Pearl, but in the back of her mind she knew that they would support what she was about to do, if maybe be a little shocked and over reactant at first-namely Pearl.

 _"I could show you, if you stay."_

The already silenced room only became dense with tension, mostly from the hyperventilating Pearl in the corner.

Jasper knew the answer to this statement right away, deep down inside of herself, but she almost couldn't come into terms with what she was about to agree to herself.

If she really stayed, she would be a traitor to Homeworld. One of THEM. She would become all that she had ever fought against for. Would that mean that she would have to defend the very planet that she sought so hard to destroy? The very same one that her now Diamond, Yellow Diamond wanted destroyed, one of the higher beings she was literally created specifically to serve? Would she be wrong if she actually WANTED to stay?

She was made and raised a soldier, and one of the top qualities in a good solider was loyalty, and she was the greatest solider Homeworld ever produced, so of course she would embody this trait. But then, did she not owe loyalty to the one who saved her?

And besides, if not here then where did she have to go? She couldn't go back, Yellow Diamond probably thought that the Earth was going to be destroyed-she wouldn't risk it to come back would she? No probably not, not even for her considering the hate she seemed to harbor for this small planet. Actually, she was positive she had seen the same Peridot she had come to Earth wi- what was she saying of course it was the same Peridot, she was an Era two Peridot, she came after the war, anyways since Yellow Diamond didn't come for her- the one in charge of caring and report the status of the cluster, what chance was there for her?

She had no other place to go. She might as well give it a shot, if nothing else to learn about this 'sis' business. Only repay her debt to the gem who saved her of course, the rest was just a bonus to that. She looked down to the small gem in front of her, who was giving her an embarrassed look, coupled with a purple blush across her cheeks.

 _"I'll stay then",_ was all Jasper said.

The only sound that echoed through the otherwise silent was the increasing volume that came with the rising panic wave that was Pearl.

For Amethyst though, it seemed as if the outside world had completely vanished, the only being where Jasper and herself. She couldn't help the emotion that overcame her as she looked up to Jasper with star shaped pupils that showed her excitement, along with tears at the corner of her eyes, in a sign of genuine and raw emotion she rarely tried to show, as she usually hid it behind a smile if she could.

She couldn't help it-she had to hug the much bigger gem.

Jasper was in utter shock when she saw a small purple blur move from not even a foot away to ramming into her midsection. She wasn't expecting this, this Amethyst moved faster than any other gem she had ever seen, not even in the various fights she had with her, and all to wrap her arms around her midsection? This really was an odd planets.

Amethyst continued to squeeze Jasper, probably would have hugged her to death due to oxygen loss had she been human.

Amethyst could not help but utterly breakdown as she cried into Jasper's midsections, literally drenching her own face, and smearing some of the tears onto Jasper's physical form.

To be completely honest, Jasper didn't know that was actually possible for a gem. Gem's body where just a projection of their gem, they where not completely real- the only gem that she had ever even HEARD of that could do such a thing was Rose Quartz, this was a surprise. Honestly was there ever going to be a time where these earth Gems did not surprise her? Probably not- just came with the territory didn't? Earth, what where you going to do about it.

The small gem was still holding on for dear life, and showed no sign of stopping. It was getting awkward for the solider, not being well versed in the field of consoling, no one on Homeworld was really.

So with reluctance Jasper lightly patted the Amethyst's mane of hair, making sure to look everywhere but in front of her.

Then from the back, all hell broke lose.

 _"We're not really considering this are we!",_ screeched a very disoriented Pearl, still not fully accepting what she was seeing. Maybe she had accidentally fallen asleep and was having one of those 'dream' things as Steven called them. After all he said that they didn't really make sense and that they weren't real, there was no way that this was anything but that-right?

But better safe than sorry and if this was not in fact a dream, well she was going to have her opinions heard.

The rest of the room turned to face the hysterical Pearl, even Amethyst turned slightly around; with tears still glistening in the corner of her eyes while she held on to the behemoth in front of her.

 _"She's one of them! She's been shattering the Crystal Gems since she first came out of the kindergarten, how can we trust her not to do it now? And after all we have seen her do, shes unstable, dangerous do we really need someone like HER around? Think of Steven he could get hurt if-",_ Pearl was interrupted before she could get really heated up with her rant by a firm hand on her slim shoulder, one that she knew very well, Garnet- the voice of reason for the Crystal Gems.

 _"Pearl, you need to trust in Amethyst, she's not the same gem she use to be, I think we should give her the chance.",_ Garnet said in her staple calm and controlled voice. Pearl on the other hand was still in complete shock, this time by what Garnet just said. _"Your not serious are you Garnet? You know as well as i do what Jasper has done and",_ she lowered her voice down to a whisper, _" not to mention all of the Gems we knew that she PERSONALLY SHATTERED!",_ Pearl finished.

Garnet kept her stoic look however, completely unfazed by what Pearl just said. _"Pearl, i know that we have had our negative run ins with Jasper, but i trust Amethyst opinions, and so should you."_

 _"Of course i trust her opinions it's Jasper i don't trust and-",_ she stopped as she was once again interrupted by Garnet. _"We let Steven try to help out Centipedel, i think we should give the same curtacy to Amethyst."_

 _"Yes we did let Steven try with Centipedel, but that was different, she wasn't a threat like she is",_ Pearl said with an exasperated tone. Garnet just gave a glance at Pearl before continuing her defense on Amethyst's part. _"Normal i would agree with you Pearl",_ she said before turning towards where said Gem was, raising an arm towards her to emphasize her point, _"But look at her, she has done nothing to show she is a threat now, something tells me that something happened that we don't know about that changed this, but for now that doesn't matter, all you need to know is that she deserves a second chance, and we are going to let Amethyst give it to her, and that's final."_ Garnet added.

With that, Pearl knew she had no more say in the matter, Jasper was staying.

Back from where the said Gems where a small whisper escaped Amethyst's mouth, _"Thank you Garnet."_ Having heard the words of gratitude, Garnet looked back at them, her sunglasses shining in a sign of understanding.

Jasper on the other hand, could not help the small twitching beneath her eyes of annoyance as her former enemies talked about her 'future' as she was a pet, or just not present in the room.

Which didn't seem like it as going to stop anytime soon.

 _"Well if she's going to stay, where will she be living, we can't exactly let her say with,"_ Pearl stopped for a second before glancing over at Jasper before whispering, _"you know with the others."_ Jasper of course was confused, what did she mean the others? Did she mean the Peridot she came to Earth with? If so then who where the rest it seemed that there was more than one, who else was an allie of them- no, they couldn't mean the...Lapis Lazuli could they?

 _"And for that matter where will Steven stay, he can't exactly stay in the house now",_ Pearl said as she looked around the very destroyed house. Garnet of course had an answer. _"Steven will stay with Greg, he's lived in his van before, he'll do it now until we can get his house repaired."_

 _"So where does that leave Jasper?",_ asked Pearl, hand in her lips with concern. Then Steven decided to speak up. _"She could stay in the van with me and my dad!",_ he said excitedly with stars in his eyes.

Pearl and Garnet turned to each other, to see if they agreed with the suggestion. Amethyst turned around from hugging Jasper instead opting to sit on the much larger beings lap, much to said Gems dismay and confusion. With drying tears on her face, she looked very intently at the two much older gems, she knew that in the end they would make the final decision and she trusted them completely to make a good and contentious decision for the well being of Jasper.

 _"Will she even fit in the van with them?",_ asked Pearl as she tried to imagine a behemoth such as Jasper living with both Greg and Steven in such a small van.

Giving Pearl an almost nonexistent side glance Garnet easily answered Pearl's prelaxing predicament. _"Rose fit in Greg's van, they are both about the same size, i'm sure they will all manage to fit somehow"._

From the back Jasper seemingly flinched at the mention Rose's name, not in fear, but in a sort of anticipation. They spoke of her as if she was no longer with them, but that creature that extended it's arm in generosity towards her by offering her shelter had her shield what could this mean?

From the comforts of Jasper's lap, Amethyst couldn't help but feel the sudden jerk of movement that came from Jasper at the sound of Rose's name. Not sure what she should do in this situation, she did what she assumed would help in this situation, she leaned back so that all of her weight was supported by Jasper's abdomen, hopefully to remind her of the promise she just made, and all that came with the territory of said promise. It seemed to work as it seemed that Jasper calmed, if just a bit-but in all honesty, it was really that Jasper was tired. Corruption was a stressful ordeal and even for the most hardy of gems, and would eventually take it's toll on them.

 _"If you say so Garnet",_ responded Pearl to Garnet's statement, still not completely sold on the as protective as she was she couldn't help but worry, a large and previously mortal enemy gem under the same space as Steven? She even worried about Greg, what could he do if Jasper decided to turn on them, what could end up happening to either of them in the hands of a Homeworld trained solider? But, if Garnet had confidence in Amethyst's promise, and all of the unspoken vows that came with it, she would to-if only for now, just to see how it went. And besides, if something where to happen Garnet would tell her before it happened-at least she hoped Garnet did, it was not uncommon for Garnet's future vision to be wrong...in a way at least, she only saw options of what could possibly happen, so there was no real guaranty...she had to stop thinking about that if she was going to not break the laws of physics and have a heart attack.

Steven however was completely oblivious to Pearl's internal dilemma and instead ran over to Jasper, completely overjoyed, not only had today been the day of his first Gem fusion, but the Crystal Gems were able to sort-of cure corruption. Maybe this was a sign of improvement, that things were going to get better.

 _"Did you hear that Jasper, your going to stay with me and dad in the van!",_ Steven exclaimed in glee.

Jasper however did not seem to be joining in Steven's celebratory mood, her face as unwavering and stone cold as usual. Slightly taken aback, Steven paused in his cheerful mood. Then Jasper ever so slightly tilted her head, before asking, _"What's a dad...or a van?"  
_


	5. Not at First Sight

All the Crystal Gems decided to join Steven in introducing Jasper to his dad, just in case.

With Steven leading the way toward the car wash, where Greg was almost guaranteed to be, he was followed closely behind by both Amethyst and Jasper they were, in turn, followed loosely by Garnet and Pearl, who was still watching Jasper closely, to see if she was trying to do anything funny.

She still didn't fully trust her, it would probably take a while, she had been there by Rose's side during the war, maybe she hadn't personally seen it, but she knew what Jasper had done to the Crystal Gem members-ones that she had personally known. Things like that couldn't be forgotten overnight;she knew this was thousands of years ago, and things where different back then, she shouldn't judge a Gem by her past. It was one of the strongest messages Rose ever taught her, but still she needed time, eventually she would get over it-but until she proves herself, she would have to watch her.

The rest of the Crystal Gems where quite calm, contrasting with Pearl's anxious mood as they arrived at the car wash that Greg had worked at for the last sixteen years.

There was Greg with his signature tank-top and ripped jean shorts. As per-usual there where no costumer at the car wash, and of course Greg was resting in his van with open doors to allow ventilation in the heat of the final weeks of summer.

Steven was overjoyed at seeing his dad, he had much to tell him. Not being able to hold it Steven ran over to the van as the Crystal Gems watch over him as a proud parent would; while Jasper watched over him in confusion. Why would anyone waste energy when it wasn't needed? These Earth being, the complete opposite of all that Homeworld represented. So why was she so willing to try and discover what it felt like, what it meant to be one of the Earth's inhabitants? Even she didn't know, maybe Earth just had an effect on all who landed on its soil- they were doomed or perhaps destined to become one with it.

Jasper was startled out of her train of thought as she heard something that sounded like a yelp escape from a small, seemingly metal type craft- she didn't know that Earth creatures could make contractions like this. Of course, they were still inferior to what Homeworld was capable of making, but impressive none the less, especially considering what they had at their disposal the last time she had been there.

 _"Dad wake up!"_ , Steven 'yelled' lightly into the van, hoping to wake up his very fast asleep father.

To Greg's credit, after years of being the sole caregiver for Steven, he had learned a valuable lesson all parents learn at one point I'm their lives- to sleep very lightly. At the sound of Steven's 'yelling, learn' Greg all but shot up from his tangle of thin blankets he used as a around, morning blurriness clinging to his eyesight, he looked at the 'entrance' of his van to see his one and only son-Steven. He couldn't help the relief that overcame him. Every time he laid eyes on his precious Steven he could but feel a weight off his shoulders. He never really liked when Steven went on missions with the Gems- although he knew that they would protect him with their very lives, it still scared him. Especially when he heard about the last dangerous mission they had, the one with the hand ship. Steven had come back with a black eye- that was when Greg had realized how dangerous it really was for Steven. He had heard about some of the stories that Rose had told him, about Gems and even the war. But he had thought that threats on that level where no longer on Earth, of course he knew that there where some dangers that came with the territory, but he felt as if he owned the Gems. After millenniums of being together as a family with Rose, he was just some stranger. A stranger that took it all away in the span of a few years- the least he could do was let them be with Steven in the way they knew how to give them a sense of completion in a way. But it was different now, ever since the day he came back from the attack if the space hand with a purple eye, he realized just how dangerous gem work was. He had never thought of Steven getting hurt, no parent did. The thought that any time he went out, there was a chance he might not come back-no matter how hard the Gems tried, shook him to the core.

But he was here now, and that was all that mattered. He learned that the best thing to do in life was to enjoy what you had while you had it, because it might not last, and when that happen-you only have the precious memories that you will forever cherish. But until that day you had to make memories for you to remember.

Which was what he was going to do now, for any memory is a good memory in the grand scheme of things.

Standing up he shuffled over to the 'entrance' to greet his the precious individual in question.  
 _"Hey Stu-ball how's it been?",_ asked Greg in his signature happy and cheerful tone when talking to Steven that had helped award him the title of 'cool dad'.

Steven couldn't help but slightly giggle at his dad's self proclaimed nickname for him before answering his father's question. _"Hey dad I've been great,",_ he said as Greg's body felt lighter with that knowledge. _"But actually we came to see if we could stay with you for a while, the house was kinda...destroyed",_ Steven said with a slight pause, as he knew that his father tended to 'overreact' to this type of sudden news.

All traces of calm and tranquility of knowing of his child's safety all but melted away by the very fact that Steven mentioned that his home was destroyed to the point that he could no longer live it it. His heart rate increased as his mind swirled with hundreds of possibilities that could have occurred to destroy the house that he and the Crystal Gems personally made for him. Did Steven say we? Did that mean that the temple was destroyed to? Greg had seen the temple survive many things, to think that it could have been destroyed sent shivers up his spine, just thinking what could have been strong enough to destroy it to where the Gems could no longer live in it.

Steven saw that his father started to panic a little, so he decided to clarify what he really meant.

Giving a slight chuckle at the misunderstanding Steven continued to explain _," Dad it's OK, there was just a fight inside the house, and it sort of got destroyed in the process."_ This served to calm Greg down, along with a few deep breath to slow down his heart rate. _"Oh well that's good at least it wasn't something else",_ Greg said with a sigh before continuing, _"Let me guess, Pearl and Amethyst got into another argument and it got out of hand?",_ Greg finished his question as he placed his hands comfortably on his hips.

 _"No not at all, you see a lot happened today! First Amethyst and I fused! Can you believe it? Beside that some things happened, which led to a fight that wasn't between Amethyst and Pearl that destroyed the house. Which reminds me i need to introduce you.",_ Steven said as he turned to go over to Jasper to grab her hand much to Jasper's dismay, almost instantly becoming rigged as Steven dragged her over to the van so that his dad could have a closer look at her.

It was odd for Greg to say the least, it had been a while since he had to crane his neck as much as he was doing now to see someone-not since Rose, mostly because it was quite rare to find anyone taller than seven feet tall, let alone eight feet tall like the Gem in front of him. It brought back memories of the only one who ever forced him to strain his neck like this. If anything it was a little awkward, which was only amplified by what Steven said next. _"Dad this is Jasper, you remember that i told you about her right?"_ , asked Steven.

Honestly, this kid never failed to raise his blood pressure. _"Jasper! The same Jasper that gave you the black eye when that hand ship arrived and almost destroyed Beach City?!"_ , asked Greg, his hands clasping handfuls of his long hair, his face clearly one of disbelief. Giving Jasper a second look over, Greg couldn't help but feel his overprotective parental instinct swell in his chest. Although he would never act on his instinct really, he wasn't dumb- no matter what he tried to do there was no way he was going to come out of any confrontation with a Gem that beat GARNET, even if only once, alive. But that wouldn't stop him from doing so in his imagination- it at least helped with the venting process.

Seeing his dad in utter distress, and not really in his right mind Steven decided to clear things up-again. _"Yeah...but it's different now, and she needs a place to stay for now. At least until the house is repaired.",_ Steven said as he scratched the back of his head at the awkwardness of the situation.

Greg trusted Steven, no matter what the situation, he had a pure heart, just like his mother-and who was he to try and stop that personality from flourishing? But still under the same 'roof' almost immediately after 'turning' her? Even Lapis hadn't gotten that type of treatment, but then again Jasper did not try to drown everyone...or steal all of Earth's water, but still. Actually that got him thinking. _"Not that i'm complaining Steven, but why doesn't Jasper just stay with Peri-",_ Greg never got to finish his sentence as Steven almost violently cut him off, using the throat cut sign to signal that, IT was not a subject to be touched upon. Then it hit him. It was because of Lapis. How could he have forgotten the tension between the two of them, he had to pay off an entire boat because of it, if anything was a helpful reminder of...pretty much anything it was an expensive receipt. _"Oh,... yeah",_ was that Greg could say as all of these pieces hit him, causing him to scratch the back of his neck just as Steven had earlier as well in utter awkwardness.

Suddenly Jasper decided now out of all times was the perfect time to crouch down and analyse her future accommodations, completely oblivious of the overbearing social ques to not do so in that second, not that she would have been able to pick up on them she tried anyways.

Peering into the back of the van, it was quite awkward for Greg as it felt as the behemoth was boring down into his soul with her piercing eyes.

Jasper was once again oblivious to this awkwardness as well, continuing to look over at the much smaller housing she was accustomed to.

Not really like the feeling of being stared down, but knowing that it wasn't really him that she was looking at, Greg decided it was best to climb out of the van. That way she could get a clear image of her new home temporary home and he didn't feel as if he was being watched like prey by a predator.

Once outside the van Greg went over to where Amethyst was, he had some things he wanted to talk about. _"So"_ , Greg started, not really sure how to get his words across. _"Fusion huh? You... you're the first Gem that Steven has fused with, aren't you?"_ , finished Greg, now more comfortable with is words.

Now it was Amethyst's turn to be embarrassed, a purple blush just a few shades darker than her actual skin tone dominated her face.

Trying it play it off however, clasping her hands behind her head she abruptly turned her head away from Greg so he couldn't see her blush, or so she thought.

Greg could clearly see past her 'tough guy' act attempt, it was of the things he had learned from spending time with the Gems, they tried it often-with Garnet actually being the only one to be able to actually pull it off well.

But knowing Amethyst it just best to go along with it. _"Yeah, we did",_ Amethyst said with confidence and pride despite her blush and inability to look at Greg as she addressed him.

Greg couldn't help but smile. Although Amethyst was MUCH older than he was, she was always treated as a child among the Gems, and she sort of was in comparison. She was only five thousand years old, and she had popped out of the ground AFTER the war ended- who knew how long the Gems had been fighting in the rebellion, not to mention the unimaginable age they were before coming to Earth. If anything it was possible that any one of the Gems could be millions of years old-or perhaps even older than that. In comparison Amethyst was nothing more than a baby.

But in the time he had known her she had grown, not physically but emotionally and mentally. Sure she still acted like a child at times, but she didn't shy away from problems now that she had to face them. Before Rose and the other Gems protected Amethyst, and now the tables had turned. She was no longer the inexperienced rookie that needed to be protected, but now was one of the 'big gems' that was a protector. She was now a role model for someone even younger and inexperienced than her. Although she wasn't always the best influence, she was always there when she was needed. Rose would have been proud, he knew it and maybe she needed to know it to

 _"You know, Rose and I didn't really know what to expect when Steven was born.",_ Greg said with a slight pause to collect his thoughts. Amethyst turned to face Greg with a seemingly uninterested glance, but having known Amethyst for so long he knew that she was completely intrigued.

Greg smiled at this as he continued. _"There had never been anyone like him before, we didn't know if would even be able to use his gem powers at all._ ", he paused as he glanced over at Steven with a loving paternal gaze. _"But Rose was confident that no matter what happened, you would all be there to take care of him and love him, and she also knew that if he did get his powers one day you would all be there to teach him everything he needed to know and support him when things did not go the it should"._

He got closer to bend down to clasp a hand over Amethyst's shoulder, now at eye level with her.

 _"When Steven first learned about fusion he was overjoyed at the chance to be one with his idols, when he thought that he wasn't able to fuse with Gems it really brought him down, I'm sure that he felt like he wasn't enough- that he wasn't HER.",_ Greg said. Amethyst looked over at Steven in a new light, he really was like her in so many ways.

Greg started to continue his 'story' once again, _"Then when Steven was finally able to fuse, it wasn't with one of the Gems, it was with Connie. He was overjoyed-at least that was what he told me once I finally found out, it made him a little proud to be able to do something his mother was never able to do, even if he was still a little disappointed that he could't fuse with Gems, but now the joy that he had when he told me that he fused with you- Rose would have been proud of you Amethyst."_ , Greg finished. Looking down Greg saw Amethyst in tears, stars in her eyes.

She was rarely praised in such a way, she was usually blamed or scolded for things she did-not that she didn't deserve it most of the time, it just felt good to receive it every once and a while. Especially when the praise was from Rose, even if only indirectly. She couldn't help when the tears spilled over, she didn't care that Pearl and Garnet where staring at her, she went in to hug-or squeeze the life out of Greg in her case-in front of all of them.

From where the van was Steven couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face when he say the hug out of the corner of his eye. She seemed so happy, after all that time she spent putting herself down and seemingly hating herself what what she was-or what she wasn't for the most part. She deserved happiness now that she had come more into terms with herself and who she was.

Steven also couldn't help but notice how tense Jasper became when they mentioned Rose. It got him wondering, what did she think of him now? From what he had seen she didn't call him Rose Quartz anymore, what did she think of him?

It seemed he would have to wait a little longer to find out as Jasper shook off the feeling she had towards Rose, for now, But she had questions.

 _"Did Rose fit in here?"_ she asked to the Gems and Greg's dismay. _"Yeah, she fit with a little room left for me and all my things, why?",_ asked Greg, curious as to why Jasper would even bother to ask such a question. _"It's hard to think that she would fit, i was only asking because most Quartz soldiers are about the same size"_ , she paused for half a second as she glanced over at Amethyst. _"Most of the time."_ , she added quickly before someone brought up the obvious flaw in her statement. _"It's just odd to even fathom being in such a small space, most accommodation for Quartz's are usually spacious, but with many Gems that are able to fit in the room, usually only when they where on standby._ ", she informed the group, of which Amethyst was the most interested. She knew nothing of what being a 'solider quartz ' and any information was intriguing to say the least.

 _"What did she do in here anyways?"_ , asked Jasper, not knowing the doors she had just opened. Greg blushed lightly as he chucked out an answer,"Well mostly she slept, or just hung out with me...among other things", Greg mumbled out the last part, completely embarrassed. From behind he could almost feel the smirk that Garnet and amethyst where giving. By Garnet's side Pearl stood there blushing as her mind spiraled out of controlled, invisioning things she hoped to never see.

Steven was to innocent to realize what the statement really meant, while Jasper was completely oblivious to what the words suggested due to her lack of knowledge about that topic as well as more suggestive things in general.

Standing up Jasper looked down at Greg, her eyes once again seemed to bore into his soul. _"What's sleep?",_ she asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. Greg felt relief as Jasper asked a question that wasn't the one he thought she was going to. _"Well, it's a way that Earth being regain energy, you Gems don't have to do it, but Amethyst seems to like it; Garnet isn't to against it either.",_ added Greg. Steven decided to chip into the conversation as well. _"Yeah, you could if you like, but really you're only staying with us because there is nowhere else to go right .now, so you don't have to if you don't have to if you don't want to"._

 _"I guess i'll stay",_ responded Jasper after a quick glance at Amethyst.

Before anyone could say anything else a very flustered Pearl cut in. _"Well i think we should get going!"_ , she said slightly pushing Garnet in the direction of the temple. Turning her head around she signaled Amethyst to hurry up, before once again addressing Greg and Steven. _"This has been a lot of fun but we have to go back to the temple, we have things to do...and...The house!YES!We have to go and fix Steven's house! Wish we could stay but we are very busy.",_ rushed Pearl. Both Amethyst and Garnet knew what Pearl was trying to do and why, so they decided to play along with it.

Seeing that the others where leaving Amethyst quickly ran towards Jasper and embarrassed her with one final hug, around the leg-she couldn't hug anything else due to her height. " _Bye sis",_ whispered Amethyst, her head half buried in the 'muscles' of the giants over-sized legs. Almost sensing the frenzy radiating from the quite over exaggerate Pearl, Amethyst knew she would have to cut this moment short.

It felt weird to leave her so soon, she had just 'gotten' her and she was already being pulled away, but she didn't really mind as much as she thought she would have- she knew that tomorrow would be another day, one of many that she would have with her sister.

Amethyst unhooked her arms from around Jasper's legs as she bounded toward the other Gems as they headed off back towards the temple, giving one last wave of farewell to Jasper.

Watching Amethyst leave- it was something that Jasper couldn't really describe. She had only felt like this once, but that was a long time ago. From behind her, Jasper heard snipets of the conversation the two Earth beings where having, something about her, the Amethyst that just left, and eventually about going inside the 'van', and yet there she stayed. Staring at the last place she saw the smaller Gem before she had faded away. She felt the slight difference as the Earth's energy star started to fade away from their location, turning towards the star, she couldn't help but notice the vibrance that came with the stars departure, almost as if it was giving them a reluctant farewell while promising for a better tomorrow.

Once again facing the direction in which the Gems left she wondered, what promises did she have for the tomorrows of the future?


	6. Maybe with Time

After some time of Jasper staring in silence, Steven had decided to invite Jasper into the van, not wanting her to stay outside, especially at this time of year. Although not very common, sudden storms were known to happen in the area, and although Gems couldn't get sick - it was not a necessarily pleasant feeling to be the subject of a downpour.

After calling her the first time with no response, Steven was about to try again when the much larger being slowly turned around and seemingly lumbered over towards the well-worn van.

The 'sleeping' arrangement where a little less than pleasant but bearable to say the least. Being the largest, of course, it was decided that Jasper would take up the back of the van - not that there was anywhere else she could really fit in the van. This of course only left the two front seats for Greg and Steven to sleep on. Not the best place to be for a good nights sleep. On top of the downside of the already stiff sleeping arrangement, Jasper's large frame also made it very difficult for the two to recline their seats back, almost guaranteeing a stiff and cramped back when morning came.

Still, there was a small amount of space left between them and Jasper, which allowed them a slightly more comfortable reclined position to sleep in. Given the size of the van and its inhabitants, what more could they possibly ask for?

Greg and Steven started to prepare to sleep, reclining their seats as much as they could to a position that could somewhat be considered a decent 'sleeping position'.

Accustomed to sleeping in his van, as well as very expectant of emergency's, Greg had more than a few blankets and pillows to spare even after all the inhabitants including Jasper had a reasonable amount to see them through the night comfortably.

Already beginning the almost ritual process of finding a comfortable position that wouldn't give them pain, the two humans, or partial human in Steven's case, forgot one crucial fact - Gems don't sleep like they do.

As Greg finally settled on a moderately comfortable position in which he found himself slightly curled up with his legs tucked close to his stomach, his head resting where his upper back normal was. It just so happened that he was facing towards the inside of the van instead of the window, which is how he usually ends up. With a clear view, Greg watched as Steven, who's back was turned to him and the interior part of the van, shifted to find a position to sleep in. Greg couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face as he silently watched his precious child. He had grown so much since the last time they had both slept together in the van, it was almost impossible to imagine that Steven was the same person from back then if he hadn't personally raised him. Not only had his personality changed slightly, along with his maturity, but his identity had as well.

He was no longer just a human, far from it. He was a Crystal Gem, a warrior, one who regularly was out risking his life for the sake of others. But more than anything, the real reason that Steven fought was not for the people of Earth, although Greg was sure that some part of Steven was in it for the sake of humanity, it wasn't the core reason of why he tried so hard. Despite trying to hide it from everyone, Greg knew the real reason that Steven has stayed with the Gems for so long. He felt as if it was expected from him as if he had to. Not necessarily because the world really needed him, but because the Gems did.

Even if they didn't admit it in front of Steven, the Gems truly missed Rose, more than they could ever describe. Especially Pearl. Even if it was never outright spoken, it wasn't hard for anyone, even a much younger Steven, to pick up on the emotional turmoil they were facing.

From the start, Steven had known the back story of his 'origin' although at times Greg wished he hadn't. The knowledge that Steven had was more of a curse that anything else, sure it made it very clear to him that his mother loved him, and it was much less awkward than waiting before telling him he was part space rock, but at the same time it placed so much weight on his shoulders for someone of such a young age. He was expected to take over where Rose had left off, without even knowing much about her. As timed progressed it seemed that no one truly knew her, how was he expected to pick up a legacy like that? Although the Gems adore Steven, and would probably be more than accepting if Steven ever chose to be something other than a Crystal Gem they didn't always come across as such. To an outsider, it would almost look as if the Gems were forcing Steven to replace the void that Rose had left behind for them. And to Steven, it almost seemed true. Greg had been there when the giant eye had almost invaded Beach City, he had seen the look in Steven's when Amethyst let it slip how easier things would have been if ROSE had been there instead of Steven. Although at the time Steven tried to play it off by immediately trying to find a solution, Greg could have sworn he saw the pain cloud behind Steven's eyes, more than he let on.

As the memories of that day faded from Greg's mind, tears started to gather at the corner of his eyes. He was so proud of his child, not only because of his physical accomplishments but because of his mental and emotional ones as well. Not everyone could handle the pressures of a legacy, especially one as mysterious or extensive as Rose's, goodness knows that he couldn't. Yet despite the hardships and pain that came with it, Steven has been able to do so much.

He was not Rose. As much as it pained Greg at first, he was happy that Steven wasn't, it's what Rose would have wanted. Steven was his own person, not the shadow of his mother, and although Steven originally joined the Gems out of duty he had fully integrated into one of them, not as Rose Quartz leader of the rebellion, but as Steven Quartz Universe, a being unlike any other. And there was nothing that made Greg more proud of his son than knowing he was being his true self. Of course, he acted like Rose - because that was a part of who he was, and what made him so special and yet, that did not define him. He defined himself.

As the tears in his eyes threatened to come pouring down as he continued to watch the now asleep Steven, Greg saw something move out of the corner of his eye. Turning ever so slightly to face the source of the movement, Greg locked eyes awkwardly with the other resident of the van, one he had completely forgotten about when he had became lost in his own mind, Jasper.

A blush of embarrassment became very visible as Greg tried to choke back his self-induced tears. Jasper on the other hand only raised an eyebrow as she continued to play with a corner of one of the blankets she was loaned by none other than the completely embarrassed human in front of her.

Completely oblivious to the obvious awkward atmosphere Jasper pressed on as her eyes shifted slightly. To where Steven was.

Genuinely curious, but not really concerned, Jasper casually asked Greg as her eyes drifted back towards him," _What's wrong with it"?_

Greg was slightly taken aback by the question. But not by the context of it, that was to be expected. He had spent enough time with Rose to know how lacking Gems were with human concepts. No, it was how this large Gem addresses his son that caught his attention. Rubbing away the last of the persistent tears that remained on his eyes, Greg cleared his throat as to avoid any unwanted potential cracks in his voice due to the tightness that holding back tears caused before answering. _"He's sleeping",_ whispered Greg as he glanced over to the sleeping tangle of blankets that was Steven. Before Jasper even had the chance to ask what sleeping was, Greg was quick to answer, having 'dealt' with Roses abundant curiosity for the longest time he was more than prepared for times like these. _"Sleeping is one of the ways that Earth's creatures regain energy after losing some during the day"_ , Greg paused as he sensed the confusion from Jasper. Not being able to help it, Greg released s small chuckle before continuing. " _It sort of hard to explain, especially to someone who gets all their energy from one source that is capable of sustaining them through their entire course of existence, but I'll try my best"._ Knowing that this would be easier if he actually faced Jasper in case she got lost at some point during his explanation, Greg decided to sacrifice his comfortable position to better allow Jasper the opportunity to learn. It felt strange in a way. He had never been part of any of the Gems 'reformations' at least not in a positive or significant way. He had also been advised multiple times to stay away from 'Gem business', yet here he was practically being thrown into the midst of a reformation of a previously formidable enemy. He was starting to wonder if he was fated to never have a truly normal life.

Deciding to sit on the floor rather than on the car seat Greg swiftly grabbed a blanket to wrap himself in before starting. Jasper stayed almost in the exact same position, sprawled on her stomach facing the smaller figure. Although she pretended to be somewhat uninterested, she couldn't help but to stop playing with the corner of the 'blanket' as it was called and lightly move her arm so that her chin rested on her forearm.

Taking it as a signal to continue Greg started his simple yet complicated to understand speech. _"Well, you see creatures on earth depend on outside sources for energy as opposed to the Gems internal source. We have what are called calories which are a sort of measurement of energy we have to spend. Not enough and we are unable to properly function, depending on the level of depletion it could cause illness or even death, which is the same as shattering is for the Gems", Greg paused as he noticed Jasper flinch at the mention of shattering. He wondered if he accidently struck a nerve for her. Seeing as Jasper only shock off the involuntary movement Greg continued, assuming that she would regather not talk about whatever it was that caused her to flinch." On the other hand to many calories is also bad, not only for their physical body but, for many people it's a mental and emotional turmoil as well"._

Jasper was very intrigued by this, it reminded her of 'it'. It was almost reassuring that Gems, more specifically her, weren't the only ones who suffered a pain that was beyond that of only physical torture.

Greg noticed the look that twinkled behind Jasper's eyes, but not of happiness. It was a twinkle that he knew well, the kind that occurred when one tried to his the pain of memories. Wanting to avoid any more pain for the large Gem Greg decided to wrap up his 'introduction' to the subject and just begun the explanation about the actual concept that he was trying to get across, sleep.

 _"Yeah, it just happen, mostly because of the type of society we created as people that place a high value on physical appearance above all else, when people don't fit into the set standard they usually guilt themselves which leads to more problems than the actual calories do.",_ Greg finished.

Jasper was slightly taken aback by this 'revelations'. She had never thought that the ideal of perfection was conditioned. Or the possibility that such ideals were not accepted by the entire society that created it. It was the ideal that Homeworld stood by as well, Gems were created for one purpose and if they were unable to accomplish or were not the intended bodily proportions for their very existence, of course, they were looked down upon as lesser than those who were. Not that she ever experienced such a thing, she was the closest thing to the perfect soldier, after all. She hadn't even noticed as it happened, or even when she herself looked down upon other Gems. It was how she was 'raised' to think. But maybe, like this 'human'she had to think outside of the restrictive thinking that the superiors have placed on them. She already started to anyways, it was the only reason of why she could even be where she is now. Even the change of view of image has already begun, if she had been on Homeworld she never would have given the 'runt' of a quartz the light of day, but now on this small planet that was far from the case.

Maybe that was what that Peridot meant when she said she was living on this planet. She had a different view now, one that opened up her eyes to things she would never have had the chance to experience on Homeworld, and maybe that was enough to draw away someone from all they ever knew.

Completely lost in thought, Jasper did not notice when Greg started to speak again until he was deep into his explanation. Greg, however, did not notice that Jasper was not paying attention, attributing her concentrated and stoic features to her trying to comprehend the concept he was throwing at her.

 _¨... sleep is also necessary for people and other creatures not just for energy recuperation either, it also helps process the world we live in¨._

With a quick blink, Jasper snapped out of her mindscape. As well trained as she was, she was able to paly off the fact that her attention had wavered from the lecture, while at the same time fully integrating back into the lecture itself.

Greg, on the other hand, noticed the shift in Jasper but mistook the shift as a peak in interest for what he just stated about the mind processing during sleep statement. Which only served to make HIM more excited about the subject, and it showed through with his eyes lighting up and even if he tried to deny it later, his voice went up an octave or two.

 _¨Yeah! I know right? In fact, I just read about that in a recent study. Apparently, they hooked some people onto some machines that measured brainwaves while they slept, although I don't know how they managed to find people to do that, I probably wouldn't be able to do that; having people watching me as I sleep while hooked up to cold machines just isn't for me...Well, anyways what they found was that people and other animals have the most brain activities during the night than they ever have during the day! Apparently people take in what happens during the day and then when they sleep their body no longer has to worry about 'unnecessary things' such as choices among other things so the brain is able to focus on what happened during the day which goes into long term memory and helps later on in life in case they ever face a similar situation! Isn't that neat?! It really makes you realize how little we know about ourselves.",_ Greg finished slightly catching his breath after his very enthusiastic rant, during which Jasper had slightly turned her head and leaned it back, completely at a loss over the amount of enthusiasm that this human had over something that it referred to as sleep.

Greg noticed this after a few second of catching back his lost breath, to which he blushed at his embarrassing actions. The two stared at each other for a few seconds in an awkward and tense silence before Greg broke said silence with and also awkward chuckle. Rubbing the back of his neck Greg started to apologize. _¨Sorry about that, I don't usually get like this, especially in front of people.",_ he started. He stopped there however as he picked up on the hints that Jasper wasn't really listening to him at all.

Looking closely he saw what seemed to be bags under her eyes, which shocked him completely, he knew that gems did not need to sleep. Which only made him wonder, was something wrong with her? Did she go through something dramatic? Or where those just part of her markings?

He didn't believe that they were just markings, they seemed to serve no purpose, did that mean she was tired? Could gems even get tired?

Now that he thought about, he was sure that he remembered Steven mentioning something about it once, not that he thought his son was a liar, but all previous knowledge he had about Gems from Rose pointed towards the fact that gems did not get tired. Well, there was a first time for everything right?

Standing up Greg addressed Jasper once more, _"Well it's getting late, and I need some rest, and I think you do too, you look tired - it's been a long day hasn't it?"_ Had Greg's back not been turned at the moment he would have seen wince that Jasper emitted involuntarily at the memory of never-ending emptiness.

But, she forgot all about it at the mention of was that and why did she look like she had it, was it a bad thing?

As Greg finally settled back into his seat, he looked back to see Jasper glaring at him in confusion, and even a bit of anger. A little nervous as the possible outcomes, some of which involved him flying through the side of the door, shot through his head, Greg decided to defend himself.

 _"Well you do!"_ , Greg said as he adjusted the rearview mirror to face Jasper and allow her to see slightly dark markings underneath her eyes. _"See that, we call those bags and they show just how tired you really are,"_ Greg said as he lowered his arm _._

He felt his heart jump as he noticed Jasper right beside him, until he noticed she was just trying to get near the mirror to get a closer look at herself, which caused him to relax.

Looking at Jasper, as she poked and moved around to get a closer look at her eyes, Greg could not help but compare her to an oversized dog that was looking at their own reflection for the first time. as the thought crossed his mind, Greg struggled to keep his laughter in.

As Jasper started to turn towards him, Greg immediately straightened, as a soldier would in front of their commander, while still trying to hold in the laughter that tickled the back of his throat.

As Jasper completely turned Greg noticed what appeared to be a hint of fear in the eyes of Jasper before she spoke up. _"I've never seen this before, or even heard about it",_ she started as she lightly touched the bottom of her right eye, where her bags were, _"is it bad?"_ she asked concern littering her voice.

Guilt pooled at the pit of Greg's stomach as he realized how bad it was for him to find amusement in spite of Jasper's predicament, at another beings expense. What sort of example was he?

Instead of moping about it, he decided that the best thing to do was help as much as he could to calm Jasper's nerves. _"Nah, it's nothing to worry about. For humans it usually means we need more_ _sleep,"_ Greg paused before continuing slowly, _"do you want to give it a_ _try?_ " asked Greg, not sure of Jasper's reaction.

Jasper seemed to think about it for a second before she glanced over at the mirror once more to look at the bags under her eyes before she turned back towards Greg. _"How is it done?"_ she asked.

Greg was genuinely surprised by this, from what he gathered, and personally experienced- Homeworld gems usually take time with these sorts of things, or actually wrapping the idea around their head around even one earth concept, much less actually performing the task. For Jasper to be so willing to even try, it was almost baffling. Even Rose had been a bit reluctant to try at first.

A smile crept onto Greg's face as he started to give Jasper the simple version on how to sleep 101. _"It's easy really, just lay down and close your eyes and let your mind go, it may take a while but you'll eventually drift off to sleep.",_ he said as Jasper's expression changed to one of revelation, and a bit of disappointment.

 _"Can Gems even sleep?"_ , she asked, in almost a shy manner.

Greg looked up surprised, before looking at the floor once again, a chuckle escaping him. It felt weird to be the with the answers again, after so long. _"Yeah, Gems can sleep, trust me, Amethyst does it all the time. Pearl and Garnet have done it before to",_ he said.

Looking back at Jasper he saw that she had wasted no time and was currently on the floor laying face down. He could have almost sworn that he could see her back raising and falling as if she were breathing.

After a while of her not moving Greg figured that she finally managed to go to sleep. Shifting back into a comfortable position for sleep. As he felt himself drift off he could not help but wonder, what will the future hold?


	7. Fixer-Upper

Greg and Steven woke up with a start as they shot up from their seats, to what sounded like a thud. Looking for the source of their abrupt awakening they eventually turned to the back of the van to see a large gem cradling her head as she crouched underneath the newly dented roof of the old van. It didn't take long for Greg to place two and two together, although Steven was still confused. Jasper had woken up, quite abruptly as well.

Almost as if sensing the two staring into her back, Jasper turned around, confusion littering her facial features. _"What was that?",_ she started. The two people looked at each other in question, as if the other knew what the behemoth was talking about, although it became very apparent that neither of them did. _" What was what Jasper?"_ , asked Steven as he beat his dad to the question, who still had his mouth slightly opened in preparation to speak before he realized his son beat him to it.

Moving her hands from her head, which didn't hurt at all, but instinctual reaction caused her to cradle her head for comfort from the surprise 'injury' anyways, she looked over at the two with expectancy in her eye.

 _"Them"_ , she paused giving a quick glance around." _All those images, the ones that were here a second ago, but they aren't possible because I'm here and those images were...",_ Jasper trailed off with a nervous glance towards the two, as if afraid to mention it in front of them. Greg was understanding of the situation, she had a nightmare. After having raised Steven he had come to learn that sometimes it was best to not press too much on a problem. Steven, on the other hand, was confused and a bit surprised. Even to the last moment of corruption, Steven just couldn't imagine Jasper scared of anything. She was a being that no one Gem could ever beat her alone, with only fusions ever being able to bring her down. The thought of what might have caused her fear almost made Steven scared himself, and he didn't know how to address that.

Greg on the other had had years of experience and knew just what to do. Moving to the back of the van cautiously as he knew that the Gems had a reputation of being 'flighty' upon arrival on earth, namely Lapis and Peridot being the prime examples he knew of personally.

When he finally reached Jasper after making it through the tangle of blankets that still littered the floor, he stood right next to her. Normally he would crouch down to be on the level of what is usually a child's height, but that was obviously not the case here, so Greg only lightly placed an arm around Jasper's broad shoulders as a sign of comfort before anything else. After being in a slight trance-like state from whatever caused her nightmare Jasper hadn't realized that Greg had moved towards her, only when he placed his arm over her shoulder did she take notice of her surroundings. Having not expected anything and being the trained soldier that she was her reaction was less than subtle. Swinging back her hand to dislodge any possible threat from behind. Her eyes trailed along with her large arm until she realized what she was about to hit was not a threat.

Only her fast reflexes allowed her to stop...only mere centimeters away from Greg's face and saving him from shooting out of the front of the van and becoming a bloody mess a mile away.

Greg's face fell in utter fear as he felt the strong gust of wind sweep across his face, hinting at the power that would have met his face had it not been for Jasper's quick stop. As Jasper lowered her arm, Greg gave a quick glance around, still in shock. The shock only grew as his eyes rested on the side of the van, which had blurred marks that indicated a large force slide across it. It was Jasper's hand that caused that and it hadn't even slowed her swing down one bit, in fact as he glanced back to Jasper and her hand, she didn't seem to be fazed by the impact, as if she hadn't noticed at all.

If anything that knowledge scared him more than the fact that he could have almost died because with that strength the possibility of dying at the hands of the overpowered Gem was more nerve-racking as it was a constant threat opposed to getting over it once and for all. Even the thought of the many possibilities that Jasper could accidentally kill him was enough to make him sweat buckets of pure fear.

The regret was evident on Jasper's face almost immediately.

Why was she feeling like that, what did she care that a human was almost destroyed, it wouldn't be the first one, even by her own hand. So why was this one any different.

She was interrupted from her internal dilemma by the very being that was causing it.

Having noticed that Jasper was not taking what could have been a disaster too well Greg decided once again to help Jasper as he would a child, only this time he would establish his presence beforehand.

Not that he needed to, Jaspers eyes trailed after Greg's every movement as a predator would after its prey. Greg could have even sworn he saw a bright tint reflecting off of Jaspers amber eyes.

Reaching Jasper for the second time, he now had to deal with not only Jasper's fear caused by the nightmare but her seemingly bad reaction to almost pulverizing him a few seconds ago.

Once again attempting the side shoulder hug which he used to use on Rose, back when she had thought it necessary to confess all her 'sins' to him as if to repent for them through him. It worked for one space behemoth, maybe it would work on another as well.

It didn't seem to work at first as Jasper seemed to wither under Greg's very delicate and caring touch.

Unknown to the ones around her, Jasper had never been touched in any way besides by HER and even that had been indirect. She had only ever touched her to 'whip her into shape'. Although she had to admit she was very lucky. She had been under the authority of one of the less abusive 'commanders'. Unlike the others who shared her origins. Everyone had heard the rumors, of what the gems that were formed on the cursed planet where one of the precious diamond was shattered, had to face. Although no one really cared, they only even noticed because they were surprised that someone like her, the perfect quartz soldier, could have been produced in the same place as were many traitorous supporters of the rebellion were born as well.

Yet that didn't mean she was home free from any of the 'training' that all soldiers went through. Although they were created knowing what they were for and how to fight things like obedience were necessary to be conditioned, as made evident by the recent rebellion. The old generation did not have enough respect for authority so they would have to teach the new one like they never did before to avoid another pointless rebellion that only wasted resources. Like they did with Rose.

Jasper closed her eyes a bit to get the images out of her head. She didn't have to think about anymore, even if she went back she was done with her training and would never have to face Holly or her whips again.

After having held on to Jasper for quite some time, Greg decided it was time to pry into what was causing Jasper to act the way she was, only if she was willing to speak, of course, Greg would never force her to talk if she didn't want to.

 _"Are you OK Jasper? What's bothering you,"_ there was a slight pause of hesitation before Greg's more parental instincts took over _"If there's anything wrong we can help you, Jasper, that's what we are here for."_ Greg finished as he looked up to Jasper's amber eyes if he didn't know any better he could have sworn he saw the beginning of tears creating a coat of gleam over Jasper's eyes.

 _"I'm fine",_ was the only response he received as Jasper turned away, no matter what she was better than what was washing over her at the moment. No mere setback would define her image.

Greg nodded his head lightly as he processed what she said.

It wasn't hard to understand where she was coming from. It was a typical bully characteristic. For a while their image and self worth solely depends on the fact that they are strong or at least stronger than someone else. For many it was all they have. Once someone started to peel back the layers it's hard for them to admit that their is more than just strength. It opened the door to ways that thy were 'weak. To how truly vulnerably they were.

It wasn't something that was dealt with immediately. It would take time, patience, and a lot of guidance.

But it wasn't something she would have to deal with alone.

Greg gave one last look at Jasper's shaggy hair and back that was turned to him. A smiled crept onto his face as he decided full heartily that he would help Jasper throughout her healing process. To help her become the best she could be.

Because if there was one thing he had learned from Rose, it was that everyone deserved a chance to live and grow regardless of their past.

Jasper deserved it just as much as anyone.

With a soft smile he gave her shoulders a soft pat. He waited for her to turn around and faced him before he decided to speak.

Her face was downcast, unable to look him in the eye despite having turned around to face him that caused his heart to clench a bit. Despite knowing all that she had done to Steven and the Gems, and probably countless others it was easy to see that behind her exterior Jasper was not a bad person. She had the potential to grow and become better.

Greg gave her a small grin as he gave her a small shake.

 _"Hey, lets go met up with Amethyst and the others. I'm sure that there is a lot they want to talk about; especially Pearl it wouldn't surprise me if she ended up giving you a lecture about earth culture among a list of rules",_ he finished with a chuckle, keeping an eye on Jasper to see how she would respond.

He was pleased to see that while she still wouldn't look at him, Jasper gave a weak chuckle of her own in response.

 _"Yeah",_ was all she responded with as she finally peeked at him from the corner of her eye. To Greg it made her seem much smaller than she really was.

They stayed like that for a few moments softly gazing at each other, basking in the warm aura that just felt so innocent, so calming.

The moment came to an end when Steven started to come closer to the van, ready to go to the temple and face the other Gems once again alongside Jasper and his dad.

Greg saw Steven approach from the corner of his eye and turned to address him, breaking the hypnotic eye contact with Jasper in the process.

 _"Hey Stewball, sorry we took a while",_ he said as he scratched his remaining hair a little sheepishly.

 _"But I think we're ready to go now"_ , Greg finished as he glanced at Jasper once again. Searching for affirmation to his statement.

Jasper who had been facing Steven since he arrived gave a simple sharp nod in agreement that she was in fact ready to face the others once again.

 _"Lets get this over with",_ was her simple response as she heaved herself up from the van.

Greg followed suit and closed the van doors behind him.

 _"Are you ready to see the others?"_ , asked Steven as he started to lead them all back to the temple. Without giving her time to respond he continued.

 _"I just wanna say sorry in advanced."_ He gave a small pause as he couldn't hold in the award giggle before he continued.

 _"Pearl will probably have prepared a lecture or something for you now that she knows you're here to stay",_ he finished as he looked over at both Jasper and his dad.

Jasper had a slightly confused but otherwise indifferent look on her face while Greg had a know and sympathetic look on his.

 _"It's just a Pearl, how bad could it be?"_


End file.
